Hood ornament

Bentley's “Flying B”

The hood ornament is an ornament and a distinguishing feature of many automobile manufacturers . It was originally placed on the radiator cap; Due to the modified design, it is now on the bonnet. Famous hood ornaments are the Mercedes star and the " Spirit of Ecstasy " from Rolls-Royce .

Hood ornaments were particularly common until the 1940s. These were small figures of people (e.g. Rolls-Royce), animals ( e.g. Leaper , the figure of Jaguar ) or trademarks (e.g. Mercedes-Benz ). They were often very artfully and elaborately designed.

With the onset of mass motorization , hood ornaments were rarely attached to new vehicles. One reason for this - in addition to the production costs - was the safety aspect: in accidents with pedestrians, the hood ornament often caused serious injuries. The Mercedes stars used today therefore have a mechanism that ensures that the star folds down (but does not break off) without applying great force. In April 1959, rigid hood ornaments were banned in Germany.

Hood ornaments often fall victim to theft or vandalism. The Mercedes star is the most frequently required spare part for Mercedes-Benz cars . Due to this problem, the hood ornament of Rolls-Royce vehicles can be retracted at the push of a button in the current models. They are also equipped with sensors, automatically move down into the radiator grille when touched and are thus protected against unauthorized access.

Today only a few manufacturers assemble hood ornaments, mostly in higher vehicle classes . Examples are Mercedes-Benz , Jaguar (no longer ex works today) and Rolls-Royce.

Gallery of hood ornaments

" Spirit of Ecstasy " from Rolls-Royce
" Leaper " from Jaguar
“Winged B” from Bentley
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Packard cormorant (deluxe figure, 1942)
Packard Cormorant, Senior Models (1956)
Chevrolet - "Eagle"
Illuminated automobile hood ornament by René Lalique
Viking hood ornament of a Rover P4 100 (1960s)
Peugeot lion hood ornament
Mercedes Star
Opulent hood ornament by Buick (1930s)
Opal glass figure by the artist René Lalique on a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (1956)
old Maybach
Nash Metropolitan
Oldsmobile
Armstrong Siddeley Sphinx
Toyota